Malaysia Splits With Asean Claimants on China Sea Threat

By Sharon Chen -
Aug 29, 2013

Malaysia differed with fellow
Southeast Asian claimants in the South China Sea on the threat
posed by China, dismissing concerns about patrols off its coast.

Malaysia is not worried about how often Chinese ships
patrol the areas it claims in the waters, Defence Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein said in an interview in Brunei yesterday.
Chinese Navy ships in March visited James Shoal off Malaysia,
near where Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
have oil and gas operations.

“Just because you have enemies, doesn’t mean your enemies
are my enemies,” Hishammuddin said on the sidelines of meetings
with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations as well as the U.S. The Chinese “can patrol every day,
but if their intention is not to go to war” it is of less
concern, he said. “I think we have enough level of trust that
we will not be moved by day-to-day politics or emotions.”

Malaysia is one of six claimants to land features in the
South China Sea, an area where competition for gas and fish has
led to boats being rammed and survey cables cut. The Philippines
and Vietnam reject China’s map of the sea, first published in
the 1940s, as a basis for joint exploration.

“Asean is divided on the South China Sea dispute because
all the members have different interests in the South China Sea
and their relationships with China also differ,” said Ian
Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies in Singapore. “Vietnam and the Philippines see the
dispute as a major national security concern while Malaysia and
Brunei always downplay tensions.”

U.S. Concerns

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met Hishammuddin today,
alongside defense ministers from Asean, China, Japan and South
Korea, for the second ADMM-Plus security summit. Hagel told
ministers he was concerned by a rise in maritime incidents and
tensions in the waters.

“Actions at sea to advance territorial claims do not
strengthen any party’s legal claim,” Hagel said, according to
remarks prepared for delivery. “Instead, they increase the risk
of confrontation, undermine regional stability, and dim the
prospects for diplomacy.”

The situation in the South China Sea is “stable,” said
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, after meeting his Thai
counterpart Surapong Tovichakchaikul in Beijing today. “Such a
stable situation does not come easily and we should dearly
cherish it,” he said. “There is no real problem with freedom
of navigation in the South China Sea, nor will there be a
problem in the future.”

Defense Spending

An increase in defense spending in the region is “of
serious concern to all of us,” Singapore Defence Minister Ng
Eng Hen told reporters in Brunei today, adding he had raised the
matter during talks with other ministers. Spending by Asian
countries rose 75 percent from 2002 to 2012, compared with 12
percent for the same period in Europe, he said.

“The trend is likely to continue because Asian countries
will modernize their militaries as their economies grow,” Ng
said. He said Singapore had talked about the need to assure
other countries in Asia that this process “will add stability
to the region.”

Collaboration Option

Malaysia could consider collaborating on the development of
oil and gas resources with China in the area, Hishammuddin said
in the interview.

“Provided our friends in Asean know, those who have an
interest in the region know, and if they want to object, I would
like to know why?” Hishammuddin said. “If they’re just
objecting for the sake of objecting, that doesn’t make sense.”

China National Offshore Oil Corp. estimates the South China
Sea may hold about five times more undiscovered natural gas than
the country’s current proved reserves, according to the U.S.
Energy Information Administration. In June, Malaysia Prime
Minister Najib Razak called for parties to jointly develop
resources to avoid conflict and prevent “extra-regional
states” from becoming involved.

Najib cited a joint development zone in waters claimed by
Thailand and Malaysia as a precedent that could be applied in
the South China Sea. China has agreed to talks on a code of
conduct for the area, with discussions to begin in September.

Code of Conduct

“China is somewhat reluctant to reach a consensus on the
code of conduct with Asean members, if the area covered by the
code of conduct is in certain portions of the South China Sea
claimed by China,” said Arthur Ding, a research fellow at the
Institute of International Relations in Taiwan.

China still calls for disputes to be handled directly by
the countries in involved, Defense Minister Chang Wanquan said
in Brunei today, speaking through a translator.

China opposes any effort to internationalize, “escalate or
complicate the disputes,” Chang said. “These disputes should
not and will not undermine the overall relationship between
China and Asean.”

Hagel will visit Vietnam next year at the invitation of
Vietnam’s defense minister, said a senior U.S. defense official
who can’t be named according to government policy. Hagel also
met his counterpart from Myanmar for talks in Brunei yesterday,
the first meeting of top defense figures from the two countries
in 20 years, the official said.